Well you cannot get much more different to the shopping streets and markets of Kyoto. Today we made it to Jigokudani and to our ryokan right up in the mountains. The ryokan is a 30 minute walk on a track mostly covered in snow and has been in the same family since it opened in 1864. The man presently running it says his family has been in the area for 500 years. He himself rarely leaves - perhaps into the city just 2-3 times a year. Otherwise, they shop locally and pick mushrooms and mountain vegetables. There are monkeys everywhere ! They are jumping from window ledge to window ledge and in the hotspring outside. The ryokan itself is pretty rustic, but seems warm and comfortable.
The journey here was quite a feat - requiring Russell's logistical planning and my anxiety and time control (keeping everyone focussed and on task). We left Kyoto early and took the "Thunderbird" train to Kanazawa. From there it was a quick change (made it with less than a minute to spare) on to a shinkansen to Nagano, then a local train to Yudanaka. At Yudanaka station we got a bus to the Monkey Park and ryokan. Everything pretty much worked like clockwork until we fell at the last hurdle. We missed getting off the bus at the right stop and by the time we realised an announcement told us all to stay strapped in our seats as we were heading up the windy mountain pass to the top. 20 minutes later we ended up on the ski fields (Shiga kogen). Luckily we were able to get a bus back down without too much of a wait as I really did not want to be walking to the ryokan in the dark.
Dinner at the ryokan was great fun. Our host Katsuyoshi-san and his wife were so friendly (and a little bit crazy). They served us a huge feast of fried salty trout, locusts, wild duck and mushrooms and cabbage and noodles in a soup that we cooked at our table on a burner. We chatted with our fellow guests who were also from Sydney - a brother and sister with 3 children between them (one Henry's age and two a little older). Our hosts then invited us into the lounge to play "Go" and drink cocoa. Apparently a new "Go" strategy was invented in Jigokudani (at the ryokan) and they are very proud of it. The kids all ran off to explore and play and Katsuyoshi-san brought in glasses of plum wine made by his mother. There was more excitement when his wife rushed in to tell us there was a "racoon dog" (tanooki) outside. She took out a bowl of food scraps and told us that sometimes if the coast was clear, racoon dog might go and get his family to come and eat. The coast was not clear however, because an old monkey barged in monopolised the scrap bowl.Read more

Today started with another fantastic meal at the ryokan - boiled fishcakes with fresh wasabi, scrambled eggs, potato salad with gorgeous rainbow radish slices, miso, rice and mushrooms (lots of mushrooms). It snowed overnight so outside it was a winter wonderland of fresh powdery soft snow. We checked out of the ryokan and spent the morning at the snow monkey park. The kids went a bit nuts with excitement. Just before we were due to leave, Henry fell into an icy pond up to his neck. I still don't know exactly what happened and feel a bit sick about how it could have turned out. I suspect he tried to walk on the icy surface, misjudging its thickness !!$#@ Anyway, he managed to scramble his way out, and we took him back to the ryokan where Katsuyoshi and his wife let him have a hot bath in the spring and then made us all coffee and hot lemon drinks. They gave us towels and even some spare gum boots since his waterproof hiking boots were now completely soaking (and due to their waterproof nature not releasing any water from inside !).
After that drama we made our way back down the mountain, retraced our steps to Yudanaka and Nagano (to collect our large suitcases) and then on to our next destination...Read more

Following our visit to the Snow Monkey Park, we took a 5 minute local bus (which was quite an achievement considering to complete lack of English anywhere to be seen - turns out there is only one bus and it is actually very easy, but we'll still count this as a win) to the nearby village called Shibu Onsen. This has got to be a lesson in researching where you visit before you go there because this was an absolute gem of a town. Most tourists skip Shibu Onsen entirely and will take the direct bus to and from the Snow Monkey Park, it is their loss though.

We got off the bus in the centre of Shibu Onsen next to the Information Centre. The village is actually very small (no more than 1km long and only 1-2 blocks across) and can be easily explored entirely on foot. We enjoyed walking the cobblestone laneways which are surrounded by traditional wooden Ryokan (Japanese B&B's).

The town has over 1,300 years of history and is famous for its 9 public baths. Each of these baths is said to provide users with unique medical relief/protection. Good fortune and health will come to those who visit all 9 baths. Unfortunately we did not have a chance to take a bath this time but did enjoy the use of one of the two footbaths in the village.

For lunch, we wandered into a tiny little cafe and enjoyed a fantastic Japanese Curry, Green Tea and ice cream. The cafe would have seated no more than 8-10 people and was run by a lovely lady who was very welcoming. We were able to warm ourselves up as we enjoyed the view outside.

A number of shrines are scattered throughout the village and there is also a shooting range (a bit random I thought). The village is also home, as we would later find out, to Ryokan Kanaguya which is rumoured to be one of the bath houses to be the inspiration for the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away. This stunning wooden building has over two and a half centuries of history and is one of many amazing buildings that walk that fine line between quaint and extravagant that make Shibu Onsen such an amazing place.

This would be a fantastic place to 'get away' for a few nights to relax. I would love to come back and spend some more time in the village and do the tour of all the baths.Read more